Corn-harvester.



No. 7l6,390. Patented Dec. 23, I902.

C. E. DETLING.

conu- HABVESTER.

(Application filed Apr. 23, 1902.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheat' l.

Wi gasses a j 1 7e 01*. v 1 I by [56 I 9 9 I lfimrgeys 2m.- 7|s,a9o. Pafepted Dec. 23, I902.

' c. E DETLING.

CORN HARVEST-ER.

(Application filed Apr. 23, 1902.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Hifgesses g: 6g lg zgfor. W by Q flM QJS I THE mums =TER$ w" wowoumm WASHINGTON. a. o.

lUrvirnn States PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES EDWARD DETLING, OF ANSONIA, OHIO.

CORN-HARVESTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 716,390, dated December 23, 1902.

Application filed April 23, 1902. Serial No. 104,376. (No model.)

To all w/w'm/ it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES EDWARD DET- LING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ansonia, in the county of Darke and State of Ohio, haveinvented a new and useful Corn- I'Iarvester, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is an improved corn -harvester; and it consists in the peculiar construction and combination of devices hereinafter fully set forth and claimed.

One object of my invention is to effect improvements in the construction of a cornharvesting machine whereby the same is adapted to simultaneously cut a plurality of rows of corn on one side of the machine.

A further object of my invention is to effect improvements in the construction of the shock-carrier in which the shock is formed.

A further object of my invention is to combine with a tilting shock-carrier a butt board or gate which is adapted to be opened to enable the shock-carrier to be disposed in a vertical position and stand a shock on the ground.

A further object of my invention is to provide improved means for compressing the shock in the shock-carrier to facilitate the binding of the shock.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of a corn-harvesting machine embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the rear portion of the same, taken on the line 2 2 in Fig. 1, showing the shock-carrier disposed in a horizontal position and showing the buttgate closed across the rear end thereof. Fig. 3 is a detail vertical transverse sectional view, taken on a plane indicated by the line 3 3 in Fig. l, intersecting the shock-carrier near the front end thereof and showing the sides of the supporting-frames between which the shockcarrier is mounted and also showing my improved means for compressing the shock in the carrier to form the shock and facilitate the binding thereof. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the device on a somewhat enlarged scale.

In the embodiment of my invention I provide a front truck 1 and a rear truck 2. The front truck is here shown as comprising an axle 3,supporting-wheels el,and a draft-tongue 5. In practice the length of the axle 3 is that of an ordinary wagon-axle. The rear truck comprises an axle 6, a coupling-pole 7, the front end of which is secured to the center of the axle 3 by the usual'king-bolt 7, and a plurality of radially-disposed braces 8, the front ends of which extend toward the coupling-poles, and which braces diverge rearwardly. A cutterplatform 9 is disposed transversely and is carried by the rear truck at a point in advance of the rear supportingwheels 10, which are on the rear axle. The length of the latter considerably exceeds that of the front axle, and the rear end of the coupling-pole is attached to the rear axle at a point some distance from the center thereof, so that the cutter-platform and the rear axle project farther in one direction from the coupling-pole than the other. The longer projecting end or side of the cutter-platform, which is in advance of one of the rear Wheels 10 and which I will call the inner side, is provided with a plurality of cutters, of which two are here shown at 11 and 12. The said cutters, which are steel plates preferably hinged at their inner sides on the cutter-platform, as at l3,have their front cutting edges 14 obliquely disposed, and those portions of the inner side of the cutter-platform which are under the said cutter-plates are notched angular-1y, as indicated in dotted lines at 15 in Fig. 1. The cutter-plates are disposed one in advance of the other and are disposed obliquely with reference to each other, so that the rear cutter-plate projects farther on the inner side of the cutter-platform than the front cutter-plate. The size of the cutterplates is such that they are adapted to simultaneously out two rows of corn on the inner side of the machine. Each of the cutter-plates operates to out one of the corn rows.

hen the machine is not in operation, the hinge connections between the cutter-plates and the platform which carries them enable the cntter-plates to be folded inwardly on the cutter-platform, where they are out of the way and not likely to cause accident or injury to any person who may get in front of the machine.

In rear of the cutter-platformand somewhat elevated above the same are a pair of shock-platforms 16 17, which are disposed, respectively, on the outer and inner sides of the machine. The inner shock-platform 17 is larger than the outer shock-platform 16. Between the opposing inner sides of the said shock-platforms is an open way 18, the sides of which diverge rearwardly. Frames 19 20 rise vertically from the inner sides of the shock-platforms, respectively, and between the said frames is disposed a shock-carrier,

21. The side bars 22 23 of the said shockcarrier diverge rearwardly, and the same are here shown as provided with trunnions 24, which engage hearings in the frames 19 20, and thereby the shock-carrier is pivotally mounted between the said frames, so that it may be disposed either in a horizontal or a vertical position. The trunnions which form the bearings or pivots of the shock-carrier are nearer the rear than the front end thereof, and thereby the tendency of the shock-carrier is to gravitate to a horizontal position. The side bars 22 23 of the shock-carrier are connected together by a plurality of substantially semicircular spring-bars 25. This construction of the shock-carrier renders the same flexible and resilient to a considerable extent and increases the efficiency thereof, particularly with reference to the discharging of the shocks from the said carrier. The inner side of the shock-carrier is lined by a metallic sheet 26, which forms a smooth unobstructed surface to contact with the shock formed in the carrier and to facilitate the discharge of the shock therefrom when the shock-carrier is turned to a vertical position. The said lining 26 is provided in its sides, near the front end of the shock-carrier, with openings 22 28, and the longitudinal bar 21 is provided at a point under the center of the shock-carrier with a guide element 29, around which a compressingrope 30 is passed. The said guide element may be a pulley or antifriction-roller or may be nonrevoluble and of cylindrical form, or approximately so. Primarily the end portions of the compressing rope are extended outwardly overthe side bars 22 23 of the shock-carrier, so that the said compressing-rope is disposed transversely of the shock-carrier. A hook 31 is shown under the side bar 22 of the shockcarrier.

A winch 32 is carried by a pair of hangers 33, which depend from the side bar 23 of the shock-carrier, near the front end thereof. The said winch has a radially-disposed pin 34. At the front end of the winch-shaft is a beveled gear 35. The same is engaged by a similar gear 36, which is carried by a shaft 37, having a crank 38. Said shaft 37 has its bearing in a bracket 39, which is secured on and projects laterally and downwardly from the bar 23. It will be understood that by turning the crank the winch may be rotated.

A twine-box 40 of usual construction is here shown as secured on the shock-platform 16, near the front end thereof. The said twinebox contains the usual tension device, not here shown, as the same is well understood ing-twine 42 is drawn, and the said binding-' twine is primarily disposed transversely across the shock-carrier and has its outer end secured to a pin or other suitable device 43 with which the bar 23 of the shock-carrier is provided near its front end.

A butt-gate 43 is pivoted or hinged at one end on the shockplatform 16 at such a point that the said buttgate may be extended across the way 18 and the rear end of the shock-carrier and caused to lie with its free end on the shock-platform 17. A pin 44. is here indicated to bear against the rear side of the butt-gate near its free end to maintain the butt-gate in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 while the shock-carrier is being filled with the cut cornstalks. It will be understood that the butt-gate by bearing against the rear end of the shock-carrier tends to maintain the latter in a horizontal position, the front end of the shock-carrier being disposed to lie on a cross-bar 45 of the rear truck, and it will be further understood that prior to turning the shock-carrier to a vertical position to cause the same to discharge a shock therefrom butt downward on the ground the butt-gate must be open.

In the operation of my improved corn-harvester the same simultaneously cuts two rows of corn on one side of the harvester. Men stationed on the cutter and shock platforms grasp the stalks as they are cut and dispose the same in the shock-carrier, so that a shock accumulates in the shock-carrier and lies on the compressing-rope and bindingtwine, which have been previously disposed as hereinbefore described. When the shock-carrier is filled, the compressing-rope is crossed over the shock, one end thereof attached to one side of the shock-carrier by being engaged with the hook 27, and the opposite end of the compressing-rope being engaged with the winch 32 by being attached to the pin 34 thereof. The winch is then turned'to draw upon the compressing-rope, which disposes the cornstalks in the form of a shock and compresses the same. The shock is then tied or bound by the binding-twine. It will be understood that the usual pawl-and-ratchet mechanism with which the winch is provided maintains the latter in position to exert its tension on the compressing-rope, and the latter holds the shock firmly in place in the shock-carrier until the shock has been bound. The gate 43 is then opened, the winch released to relax the tension of the compressing-rope, and the shock-carrier is turned to a vertical position, whereupon the shock by its own gravity becomes deposited in an upright position on the field. The pivotal trunnions of the shock-carrier being near the center thereof, but little effort will be required to turn the shock-carrier to-a vertical position.

By my construction of the corn-harvester with cutters on one side thereof to simultaneously cut a plurality of rows of corn on one side of the machine an important advantage is gained, as the same enables the shocks to be rapidly formed and deposited closely together in rows across the field, hence practically clearing the field and enabling it to be sowed in grain before the shocks are removed from the field. Afurther advantage gained by this construction is that the rows of shocks are formed so far apart that they are not in the way of the harvester when cutting the next adjacent rows of corn.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. In a corn-harvester, a shock-carrier comprising a pair of converging side bars having trunnions, curved spring-bands connecting said side bars and supporting means.

2. In a corn-harvester, a shock-carrier comprising a pair of side bars having trnnnions, curved springbands connecting said side bars, a lining connecting said side bars and supported upon the spring-bands, and supporting means for said shock-carrier.

3. In a corn-harvester, a shock-carrier comprising a pair of side bars having trunnions, curved springbands connecting said side bars, a longitudinal brace-bar connecting said bands, a lining supported upon said bands and brace'bar, and supporting means for the shock-carrier.

4. In acorn-harvester, the shock-platforms separated by an open way diverging rearwardly, frames rising vertically from the inner sides of the shock-platforms, and a tilting, shock-carrier mounted pivotally between said frames.

5. In a corn-harvester, shock-platforms separated by a rearwardly-divergin g opening, supporting-frames at the inner edges of said platforms, and a shock-carrier comprising a pair of flexibly-connected side bars having trunnions journaled in said supportingframes.

6. In a corn-harvester, apair of shock-platforms separated by a rearwardly-diverging opening, supporting-fram es at the inner edges of said platforms, a tilting shock carrier mounted pivotally in said frames, and a buttboard forming a gate to the discharge end of the shock-carrier.

7. In a corn-harvester, a pair of shock-platforms separated by a rearwardly-diverging opening,supporting-frames at the inner edges of said platforms, a tilting shockcarrier mounted pivotally in said frames, and a buttboard hingedly connected with one of the shock-platforms and adapted to engage a retaining-pin upon the other platform, said butt-board forming a gate to the discharge end of the shock-carrier.

8. A corn-harvester having a transverselydisposed cutter-platform, a plurality of cutters on one end of said platform, shock-platforms on a higher plane than and in rear of said cutter-platform ,and a pivotally-mounted shock-carrier disposed between said shockplatforms, substantially as described.

9. In a corn-harvester, a pivotally-mounted shock-carrier having means on one side thereof for the attachment of one end of a compressing-rope, a guide under its lower side for said rope, and a winch on its opposite side, to draw upon the compressing-rope, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed mysignature in the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES EDWARD DETLING.

Witnesses:

CHAS. OoPPERs, A. R. RIFFLE. 

